


The pond, witness of our love

by Shireith



Series: Zutara Week 2018 [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Turtleduck(s), Zutara Week 2018, Zutara child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 06:50:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15528591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shireith/pseuds/Shireith
Summary: Zutara week 2018: day 4 (turtleducks)To Zuko, the turtleducks pond was a special place, but now that his mother is dead, it makes him sad. Thanks to Katara, he won't feel that way anymore.





	The pond, witness of our love

Inside the royal palace there was a small turtleducks pond. When Zuko was a child, he used to go there with his mum and feed them with bread crumbs.

Zuko had never shared this simple but precious information with anyone before, merely because no one had ever shown interest in him, let alone what he liked or not. However, he didn’t care much: since he was reserved and didn’t like to talk about himself, not having someone to share things with had never really bothered him. 

But then one day, Katara had found out.

Looking back, Zuko thought he had felt the urge to tell her because he knew they had some things in common. In particular, they both had lost their mothers, which they loved and missed so much.

Katara, feeling like the pain of her loss was eating her alive, had started talking to him about her mother and the special things they did together. Zuko, who had really wanted to say something about her mother, too, had told her everything about the pond.

Ozai was still Firelord then, and, due to the war, their future was blurry, unsure. They didn’t know if they would survive and be able to return home. But then they had won the war and Katara had asked him if she could see the pond. 

No one had ever asked him and he didn’t even think he’d need someone to. Yet, when Katara had, he had felt very happy. The pond was a very special place to him and being able to share it with someone else made him feel like he was honoring her mother’s memory.

After her disappearance, the pond was nothing but sadness to him. But now it wasn’t anymore.  

Thanks to Katara, the pond was once again byword of happiness and serenity. When they wanted a place to talk without being disturbed or heard, they would go there, just the two of them. They would feed the turtleducks (“They’re really interesting animals, don’t you think?”) while speaking about this and that—the good things and the bad ones, the important things and the futile ones. The pond had witnessed their friendship growing stronger every day, and then the birth and the development of a deeper relationship—their love.

At the pond, Zuko had now stopped thinking about the joyful moments he and her mum couldn’t have anymore and started imagining the ones he and Katara would experience in their future.

The child loved the pond, too. The first time she had been there, she was just a little girl, so little she couldn’t even remember it. But since then, they had gone to the pond many more times, so many no one could tell the accurate number.

The child adored the turtleducks. Like her mother, she thought they were singular creatures, too, and with the usual curiosity of a child she would try to collect as many informations as possible. Zuko always kept an eye on her, otherwise he feared she would jump in the pond unaware of the risks.

“Do I have to remember you her mother is a master waterbender? She’s not gonna drown in a pond this small!”

“ _You_ are a master waterbender, Katara. The child is just four.”


End file.
